Intro to Dramaand Shakespeare

Miss Wilson/Mrs. TurnerEnglish I

The Genius ofWilliam

Shakespeare“All the world’s a stage and all the men

and women merely players; they have their entrances and their exits and one

man, in his time, plays many parts.”

-from As You Like It

The Elizabethan Age⦿ Shakespeare’s Queen

• The overlap of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and the career of William Shakespeare.

• She had no interest in sharing power with a spouse• Reined for 44 years

The English Renaissance⦿ A boom of English art and literature⦿ The “glory days” of the English theatre

• The only plays approved before the English Renaissance were “Mystery Plays.”

The Elizabethan Theatre

A Look at the Globe

Who is this man called Shakespeare?

A Genius is Born⦿ Birth – April 23, 1564 (we think)- Died April

23, 1616⦿ Warwickshire, Stratford-Upon-Avon⦿ Married Anne Hathaway (not the actress) at

the age of 18

⦿ 3 Children• Susana• Judith• Hamnet

“The Bard”⦿ Massive collection of literature written

between 1590 and 1610• 37 plays• 154 sonnets

⦿ Greatest Play?• Academics argue “Hamlet”• Pop culture argues “Romeo and Juliet”

⦿ Types of Plays in Life?• Early Period: Histories and Comedies• Later Period: Tragedies & Tragicomedies

Is Shakespeare really Shakespeare?

⦿ Is this man named William Shakespeare truly the author of this great body of literature?

• Why?• He lacked higher education.⚫ How can this uneducated man possibly have written the most

beautiful English literature of all times?• Though his family was not considered poor, he was

certainly not a nobleman.• Shakespeare’s name was borrowed by another writer?

⦿ “No one can tell a story better than Shakespeare… so long as someone tells it to him first.”

Romeo and Juliet⦿ Written around 1595 (making this one of his early works)

⦿ Partly based in truth• There was a real couple (and rival families)• Live in Verona, Italy• Died for each other in 1303

⦿ A poem written about the lovers⚫ “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet”⚫ Arthur Brooke, 1562

⦿ There is doubt as to whether the story is true or simply a cautionary folktale passed down for generations.

Romeo and Juliet⦿ Three additional pieces that were inspired by Romeo and

Juliet• West Side Story• Love Story- Taylor Swift• Wuthering Heights• Twilight• Love Actually

⦿ How is Romeo and Juliet still relevant?• Young Love• Sometimes love is doomed to fail• Real life vs “la la land”

The Father of Modern English

⦿ Shakespeare was known for masterful use of the English Language.

• Shakespeare uses 17,677 different words in his plays.• Approximately 1700 words appear for the very first time in

Shakespearean texts.

⦿ Shakespeare is credited with single-handedly shifting the English language toward the Modern Era of English (where English is a world language).

⦿ His impact on our language is so great that it’s almost impossible to fully comprehend.

Master of Words● bump● courtship● dishearten● dislocate● impartial● laughable● inauspicious● monumental● pious● road● submerge● suspicious● lonely● indistinguishable

● advertising● assassination● bandit● critic● dickens● fashionable● film● gossip● hush● investment● gloomy● kissing● radiance● manager

● numb● obscene● puke● quarrelsome● rant● shooting star● majestic● torture● undress● varied● bloody● amazement● yelping● zany

Shakespearean Clichés⦿ An eye-sore — The Taming of the Shrew

⦿ Come full circle — King Lear ⦿ Come what may — Macbeth

⦿ Dead as a doornail — Henry VI, part 2

⦿ Elbow room — King John

⦿ For goodness sake — Henry VIII

⦿ Knock, knock! Who’s there? — Macbeth

⦿ Love is blind — The Merchant of Venice